Singapore’s entry-level F-Pace will have a 2.0-litre turbodiesel under the bonnet

SVETI STEFAN, MONTENEGRO — Singapore does not like its diesel cars, but Jaguar has been more successful than most with them here. So far this year, one in three Jags has been sold with a diesel engine.

This, in a country where 99 out of 100 private cars are powered by petrol.

Jag’s success with diesel bodes well for the F-Pace, because the entry-level model in Singapore is going to be the 2.0 D, which comes with a 180 horsepower oil-burner.

Our cars won’t come in racy R-Sport trim like the one you see here, which we drove at its launch, but as Prestige models.

No loss, if you ask me. While the black wheels, dark chrome and R-Sport badging all look nice, the Prestige version of the F-Pace isn’t exactly going to be a gargoyle. I’ve been staring at the Jaguar for two days and I’ve yet to find a bad angle or yucky detail.

Besides, the R-Sport stuff is pretty pointless on the 2.0 D because, well, the car itself isn’t very sporty.

Everyone who’s driven the 3.0 V6 S in anger has come away all hot under the collar about it, but the 2.0-litre diesel is a different prospect altogether.

For one thing, 180 horsepower sounds like a decent amount of vim, but in a car that weighs 1,775kg, it amounts to a similar power-to-weight ratio to, say, what a Toyota Vios has.

Thankfully, the F-Pace 2.0 D has both an eight-speed auto and a whacking big slug of peak torque, so it still manages to be acceptably lively. Time it from standstill to 100km/h, and the clock stops at a creditable 8.7 seconds.

But most of the oomph is delivered within a narrow rev range, so when you try to drive quickly you have to deal with bursts of urgency that are all too brief, prompting much flapping of the gearchange paddles behind the steering wheel.

And when a car has enthusiastic handling, it feels wrong to pair it with a lazy engine.

Perhaps the greater sin, though, is the engine’s tendency to raise its voice when asked to work hard, especially since it has the voice of a malfunctioning robot bear.

Our guess is that the Jaguar F-Pace 2.0 D’s price will be around $240,000 with COE when it’s launched in July, and people who spend that sort of money will expect a quieter car. The German diesels tend to be far more hushed, so it’s not an unreasonable expectation.

All the more reason to release the funds for a petrol model if you can, then. Even if you don’t feel like you deserve it, the F-Pace itself certainly does.

NEED TO KNOW Jaguar F-Pace 2.0 D
Engine 1,999cc, turbodiesel, in-line four
Power 180hp at 4000rpm
Torque 430Nm at 1,750 to 2,500rpm
Gearbox 8-speed auto
Top Speed 208km/h
0-100km/h 8.7 seconds
Fuel efficiency 5.3L/100km
CO2 139g/km
Price $TBA
Availability July 2016

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